October 23, 2002

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today
MSNBC Smears Charles Johnson
First James Taranto quotes the snarky review that MSNBC posted after "reviewing" the site's content based on some email complaints they allegedly received from LGF detractors:

"This site is the focus of considerable controversy for its focus (and particularly the focus of the constituents in its comments section) on Islamic culture and dogma as the source of Islamic terror. As a popular, active, and well presented site, it is worth checking out, but some may find its content hateful or even racist."

To which Taranto responds with justifiable rage (as did a lot of the rest of us in a blogburst):

This is an outrageous smear. The accusation of "racism" doesn't even make sense; is anyone stupid enough to think Islam is a race? And while there's plenty of hate on LGF, Charles Johnson isn't the source of it. He is simply documenting the murderously hateful ideology of radical Islam. It makes no more sense to call Johnson "hateful" than it would make to call the Anti-Defamation League anti-Semitic.

Taranto then adds some welcome web journalistic background and important LGF history and a polite, but firm admonition to MSNBC:

This isn't the first time Johnson has been falsely accused of running a hate site. Back in August, the Arab News's splenetic news editor, John Bradley, described LGF as "a hate-mail oriented, extreme right-wing website that acts as a kind of magnet for Arab-haters." There are, of course, haters and racists on America's far right--but for the most part they are making common cause with radical Islamists. The Arab News, for example, has published the works of David Duke and the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review, not to mention an article just last week that denounced the "subhuman Zionist lobby."

This is the real face of hate. Some people prefer to avert their gaze from such viciousness and barbarity, and that is their prerogative. They don't have to log in to Little Green Footballs. But to call Johnson a racist and a hater is an outrageous smear, one that Femia repeated even if he didn't endorse it. MSNBC owes Charles Johnson an apology.

One wishes that the blog guy at MSNBC would be as honest, fair and even-handed as Taranto at the WSJ.
As for his apology to Charles, I'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice.
[What really chaps my derriere is that most of the "hate" mail and trash talking against LGF seemed to come from this one Leftist/Lib blogger whose name looks and sounds like Anal Rash (thank you, Misha, for that one!) and even Taranto gives this assclown a link. I think Anal did the whole thing just to get the hits, so that he could be continue being an idiot but now with the delusion that his pitiful blog and his tired "ideas" and opinions were popular. As if...]
Advantage "at the end of the day"[fave Liberal expression]: Anti-Idiotarians, Charles and LGF